Not Afraid to Hope

We were sitting in a coffee shop talking about the upcoming birth of her second child, when I saw a sweet light start to fill her face.  Without giving it a second thought, I picked up my camera and started shooting.  Keep talking, I told her.  This is good.

We've been friends for so long, she didn't mind, and I clicked my heart away until I got this shot--the moment in the conversation where she told me her heart's deepest wish for this birth:  that this baby girl would be born in the water and gathered up immediately in her open arms.  Wouldn't that be great?  she told me.

I leaned over to show her the shot in the little screen and watched her face brighten some more.  This is what you look like, I said, when you're not afraid to hope.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Do you have a photo that captures a conversation that you or the subject want to never forget?  Share your links and stories in the comments below.

blog talk

Photographer Melissa Jill’s work speaks for itself. But that’s not all that speaks. Melissa has recently shared her expertise teaching a photo workshop in Ireland and has been a featured speaker for Pictage on the topic of blogging and how beneficial it can be for photographers. We were lucky enough to get Melissa to share some of her insights with us here. Enjoy.

................

My experience with my blog has been slow growth. I started over two years ago and I think my mom was my sole reader for awhile :). Thanks mom! Today I have around 500 people a day stop by which absolutely blows my mind!

My blog has been a HUGE source of growth for my business. It does take time and thought but I’ve found the benefits blogging brings make the investment SO worth it. These are just a few of the many benefits of blogging:

-FREE marketing. Who likes free? Blogging is all about marketing yourself and building your brand. And the great thing is that people don’t even realize that’s what you’re doing!

-Non-interruption-based advertising. No one likes internet pop-up ads or commercials—they interrupt us when we are trying to do something else. But when people read our blogs they are actually CHOOSING to be there.

-Blogs create a sense of friendship. The reader gets to peak into your life on a daily basis. Hopefully they find something they can relate to and they form a connection with you.

-Blogs create and retain customer evangelists. Your clients more than likely will follow your blog long after their session is over. You will remain at the forefront of their minds and they will be excited to tell others about you.

-Networking. Blogs provide a forum for praising the people and things that you love. When you link to over vendors/photographers it’s like giving them a big hug. You’re sure to get one back!

As you can see, the benefits of blogging are plentiful. If you’re working on growing your photography business, there’s really not much else that you can spend 30 minutes a day on that will reap the same amazing results.

I often get questions from other photographers about ways to get more people reading their blog. My encouragement to all you start-up bloggers out there is basically "blog it and they will come." The internet is a crazy thing that makes the world amazingly small.

A few more practical things you can do:

-Comment on other people's blogs and make sure to fill in the info when it asks for your web address. I often get curious about my commentors and check them out. I've developed some cool online, long-distance relationships this way—one with the fabulous Maile of Shutter Sisters!

-Link to other people's blogs when you find something cool or enjoy them. Oftentimes you'll find that others will do the same for you!

-Collect email addresses from guests (if you shoot a wedding) or family members (if you do a portrait shoot) who want to view all the photos online. Send them an email after the wedding with a link to your blog post.

-Send out newsletters on a consistent basis to your friends, clients, and other photographers. In your newsletter, highlight what's been going on and link back to your blog.

These are a few things you can try but for me, it's been more important to focus on doing a good job of blogging--being consistent, sharing my personality, and making it interesting--in order to keep first-time readers coming back. I think that's the real challenge of blogging. Anyone have any other thoughts to add?

Stop by Melissa's blog to see how she puts her advice into action. She can also be found at the lovely Photogirls website.

the practice of patience

Babies oblige, scrunching and burping and stretching and drooling, more or less lying there all chubby and delectable. Toddlers must be chased, cajoled, tickled, bribed, tricked. Adults require layers upon layers of self-awareness to be peeled back with a gentle hand.

A few days ago, Marco taught me a new lesson. He was too cool for me. And it changed everything.

We scrambled atop boulders and danced like crabs and dug for treasure and walked through the woods to a secret cabin perched on the edge of the sea. What made for shot after shot of his little brother and sister was contrived for him. UGH, he said to me, rolling his eyes in mock boredom, sticking out his tongue. I don't want to do that.

You... what? Oh. Okay. Harpy out.

Startled, I turned away for a while, focused instead on the toddler and the preschooler, pointed my lens at familiar and readily tameable beasts. All with my mind racing, and one eye trained on the conundrum that stood kicking rocks by himself, hugging his mother one moment and scowling good-naturedly the next.

Shooting Marco was the first time I've ever been so exquisitely attuned to patience. To stepping back, to letting him show me what kind of photo he wanted me to take--not the kind myself or his parents may have envisioned, but what is just right.

This is the age of the birth of a sense of self--delicate, tentative, antsy.

But looking straight at you, when he chooses to.

one sweet shot - september 2008

 

Being that it’s the time of year where everything is changing, this photo speaks volumes. I have found myself lost in it. Beyond the beautifully moody light and color, the perspective and gestures suggest the anticipation of what’s to come and the melancholy for what’s being left behind. Sigh. It’s a moment in time beautifully captured by Alison Garnett; the woman behind My LalaLand where you can find many treasures including her irresistible photo blog. I wanted to honor Alison and this Sweet Shot today.

And here are the rest of the glowing honorees-

Jackie is honoring this shot by Rhonda

Bet is honoring this shot by littleflowers132313

ohjoyous1 is honoring a different shot by littleflowers132313

Jenny is honoring this shot by Belle and Bear

Mandi is honoring this shot from her sister Something Cheeky

The Ranting Mama is honoring this shot from Ride the Wave of Life

Elaine is honoring this shot found on What the...

Lisa Luckie is honoring this shot from Jen Gray (she even wrote a post about it!)

Aaron is honoring this shot from Kat Wilcox

Mainemomma is honoring this shot by Camera Shy Momma

Melody is honoring this shot by Little Cookies

The MacDougal Family is honoring the first shot in this blog post at I’m Living with Intent

Terri/mondaysmemories is honoring this shot from Strawberry Goldie

Leaca is honoring a different shot from Strawberry Goldie

Nicky Thomas is honoring this shot from Dwarr (note-Dwarr is only 9! WOW!)

and Cosi! is honoring this shot from Melanie

Thanks so much for playing and Lisa Luckie gave me a great idea…if you get a minute give a shout out to your honoree today on your blog (if you’ve got one) and be sure to link to today’s One Sweet Shot post.

Have a Sweet Sunday.

one year later

A woman from the Omaha Better Business Bureau called the other day. She told me that she had recently been given a positive review of my photography business and was calling to ask if I'd like to be listed in their directory. Once I was able to get over the shock of getting a call from the BBB I heard her ask me how long I'd been in business. I guess I hadn't thought about that question lately and it took me by surprise when I realized that I've now been in business for a year.

A year ago I had just moved to a new city and was reluctantly searching for a full time graphic design job. As I went to job interviews or freelanced at ad agencies my mind wandered down a different path. Photography was becoming a larger part of my life and something I wanted to be doing all the time. I was starting to feel the entrepreneurial bug and all I could think about was owning my own photography business...so I went for it. But not in a big, scary, risky way. I went for it in a gradual, steady, comfortable way. During the first few months I continued to freelance as a designer a lot, but I spent most of my spare time doing free photo sessions for friends and family, learning about small businesses, creating a logo, taking a photography class, going to photography seminars, and just generally building a business.

It's amazing to me that a year ago when someone asked me what I did for a living I would have said I was a graphic designer...period. Today, when people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I am a photographer and I hand them a business card. Don't get me wrong, I don't have everything all figured out and I am not making much money (yet). I still do freelance design work to make ends meet. I still have tons to learn about photography, business, marketing, and money. But the point is that in the span of one year I gradually went from feeling like a bored graphic designer to feeling like an excited professional photographer. I love what I do and I love making my clients happy.

Year one of the photography business was all about starting things up and getting the basics in place. Now I feel like I'm ready to dig in a little deeper and learn more about how to run a successful photography business. I plan on reading more books, attending more seminars, getting organized, and buying more equipment. AND, I just got this Me Ra Koh kit as a gift and can't wait to take a look at it. It should be the perfect way to kick off year two of Paige B. Photography!

I'd love to know how many of you are thinking of starting a photography business or have already made the leap. Tell us about your journey into becoming an entrepreneur. Are there any resources you've found especially helpful?